School is out and students have time to take it easy. But kids don’t have to be completely lethargic lumps — there are plenty of activities this summer to keep everyone active in body and mind. Start with these rhythmically driven programs, for instance:

Spoken word performance

In a room full of students at Lakeside Academy last week, it was easy to spot the ones who were about to bare their souls.

They clutched papers that were folded over and crinkled. One boy stood to the side of the stage, mouthing the words of his poem into an invisible microphone. Gabriel Giron spoke to a tall girl with braids, showing her how to take a deep breath.

Giron said he and his writing partner Kirk Latimer started with around 80 students at Lakeside Academy and only 20 make it to the final performance in front of the school. The rowdy confidence they show in class begins to dissolve in the face of speaking to a crowd.

“Every semester we have to talk about five or six of them into not quitting today,” Giron said. “I just remind them that every one of you is nervous, it’s normal. If you weren’t nervous, you wouldn’t care.”

The academy serves young people who have lived hard lives, evident in the stories they shared with rhythm and rhyme. Stories of abuse, abandonment and violence came to terms with finding some seed of hope through speaking out.

Latimer and Kirk have had to embrace their own tumultuous pasts to get to where they are now, the duo known as Kinetic Affect.

The Lakeside course is part of Kinetic Affect’s busy schedule with the nonprofit they run called Speak It Forward. Willard Library is bringing them to Battle Creek on June 26 for a writing and performance workshop for students in grades 6-12, followed by a free performance at 6:30 p.m. in the Miller Stone Building.

Space is limited in the workshop, so call 968-8166, ext.517, to reserve a space.

Students will learn what Latimer calls “poetic oratory.”

“It’s not that we don’t like using the word poetry,” Latimer said. “It’s just we just really kind of make clear that it’s not poetry in the sense that people are used to hearing about poetry in schools. Because a lot of times, as Gabriel will describe it, poetry feels so distant and cold to people.”

Giron explained they both come from spoken word slam poetry backgrounds. It isn’t like writing for a book, where there’s time to re-read and process for long periods of time.

“We teach them to try to speak truthfully, honestly — and story is more important,” Giron said.

The performance is important, too: “Delivery is what we work on with them, after we have crafted the piece,” Giron said.

Workshops begin with playing around and creating a safe space.

“One of the things I’ve really learned from Kurt and from being here is the writing comes secondary to them trusting you. They have to feel comfortable with you,” Giron said.

It may seem like they’re not doing much to start with, but the games start to go deeper, encouraging the kids to find their own voices.

“One of the things that we believe and one of the foundational pillars in Speak It Forward is that if you don’t learn how to tell your own story that people will continue to tell it for you,” Giron said.

“You find and share your voice so that you can actually live life while you’re alive,” Latimer said. “Too many people will get to the end and have a lot of regrets, think about all the things that were left unspoken or undone, probably much more than the things that were said.”

Some of the students in the afternoon workshop will be able to perform with Kinetic Affect at 6:30 p.m.

As Latimer told the students at Lakeside, listening is as important as finding ones voice. All ages are welcome, although the duo does not shy away from real life situations in their performance.

“Parents should be there to communicate about those experiences afterward,” Latimer said.

The Miller Stone Building is located at 77 N.E. Capital Ave., across the street from Willard Library.

Choir and drum camp

The Music Center is hosting a choir and drum camp June 23-27 for students entering grades 3-7.

Chorus director Joel Snyder will lead singers in the morning and band director Jeff Szekely will lead drumming in the afternoon. Students can choose to do one or both programs.

No previous experience is necessary, and equipment will be provided for the drum class.

“We’re going to focus on drumming from around the world,” Szekely said. “Different world drums and some basic techniques that are universal to all of those. We’re going to be working with drums from Africa, Latin America, even a little bit from the India region, if I can make that happen.”

Kids will see how music and culture are intertwined through one of the oldest instruments known to mankind.

“We can trace human history and trade through the design of these drums,” Szekely said. “And how they’re built is even a clue to how cultures from around the world interacted over time.”

After all, having a good time is universal, and music is designed to be enjoyable.

“We’re going to have some fun hitting some stuff, do some drum circles. It’s going to be a great time,” Szekely said.

The program will be held at the Music Center, located on the campus of Kellogg Community College, 450 North Avenue. Cost for either camp is $45, or $80 for both camps. Financial aid is available. For more information, call 963-1911, ext. 258, or go to yourmusiccen­ter.org.

Drummunity

No one is allowed to sit on the sidelines of Lori Fithian’s drum circle. Everyone who shows up for Drummunity at the Miller Stone Building on Tuesday will have to pick up an instrument.

A musician and collector of instruments, Fithian jokes that drums kept following her home and she didn’t know what to do with them all.

According to the story, one drum urges her: “Well, let’s get in your car. Let’s go to the library, and see if they want to play us.”

When guests arrive at Miller Stone, chairs will be set up in a circular shape and every chair will have a drum or percussion instrument.

“We start playing games and playing music, and then we switch instruments every few minutes and so everyone gets to play a variety of stuff,” Fithian said.

It can start out “noise-ical,” as she calls it, but the games help everyone get in sync.

“So it’s kind of a neat metaphor for community — everyone is trying to make music around the same beat, but add their own individual rhythm pattern,” Fithian said.

Once the kids start getting antsy, they can gather in the middle of the circle for some moving and grooving.

She said it’s beautiful to see people who never thought they were musical to suddenly find themselves making music.

“It’s really just the power of rhythm... surrounding a pulse together and jamming and smiling at each other and having this way of connecting that’s not talking,” Fithian said.

The recreational music making will happen at 11 a.m., 1 and 2:30 p.m. This free program is for all ages and sponsored by Willard Library. For more information, call 968-8166.

More summer programs

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Boys and Girls Club of Battle Creek: 1 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays until Aug. 22; Full Blast, 35 W. Hamblin Ave.; $10 a year. Children from the ages of 6 until they graduate from high school can participate in programs all afternoon. There’s a game room, gym time and art supplies. Besides recreational activities, there are also programs to encourage students to be healthy, active citizens. For instance, teenagers can learn about money management and planning for the future, while Power Hour in the learning center has storytime and reading opportunities for kids. There’s also swim-time once a week for boys and girls. To attend, guardians must fill out an application and attend an orientation with their children. Orientation happens 6 p.m. Wednesday nights. For more information, call 788-9930 or go to bgcofbattlecreek.net.

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Kingman Museum has a number of activities this summer, centered around the new exhibit “The Wonderful World of Water.” ▶This Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. is planetarium movie night; check out three planetarium shows with the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society for $5 a person, popcorn included. Call 965-5117 to make a reservation. ▶Science Saturdays happen every third Saturday of the month; June 21 is themed “Under the Sea.” ▶The Binder Park Zoomobile will be at the museum at 1:30 p.m. June 28. ▶“The Little Mermaid” will be shown on July 9 and there will be a mermaid party on July 12. ▶August includes a visit from Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary, a sea turtle celebration and “Finding Nemo.” More activities will go on in the fall. For more information, go to facebook.com/KingmanMuseum. The museum is located at 175 Limit St.

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Binder Park Zoo

hosts Safari Day Camps for ages 5-8 and 9-12. Activities range from nature walks to animal presentations to journaling and drawing. Each camp lasts a week. It’s $75 for half days and $150 for full days. For more information, go to binderparkzoo.org or email abailiff@binderparkzoo.org.

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The Art Center of Battle Creek is holding an art fair for kids 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 28. There will be family friendly activities and a chance to check out kid-centric art. The free event will be held at the Art Center parking lot, 265 E. Emmett St.

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Marshall District Library has a number of free programs. ▶June 24: Students ages 12-17 can make their own yo-yo at 3 p.m., followed by a performance for all ages by Zeemo the Yo-Yo Man at 4 p.m. ▶June 26: Ages 8-12 are challenged to build structures using only marshmallows and toothpicks. ▶June 30 and July 21: A science fiction movie at 6:15 p.m. ▶July 1: “Catching Fire” movie night for ages 12-17. ▶July 8: Uno tournament for ages 12-17. ▶July 14: Binder Park Zoomobile shares facts about animal digestion. ▶Tuesdays and Wednesdays July 15-29: Poetry workshop for grades 3-5. ▶July 15: Water games in Ketchum Park. ▶July 22: Solar oven cooking for ages 12-17, s’more camping for ages 3-10. ▶July 23: “Finding Nemo” at Marshall High School for all ages. ▶July 24: Painter’s tape artwork for ages 8-12. ▶July 29: Neon sign craft for ages 12-17. ▶Aug. 5: Scavenger hunt for ages 12-17. ▶Aug. 7: End of summer reading ice cream party for all ages. Marshall District Library is located at 124 W. Green St., Marshall.

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Willard Library has events at three locations this summer. Helen Warner Branch: ▶At 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays June 18-Aug. 6, read a few chapters from a popular children’s book, then take home a copy to keep. Miller Stone Building: ▶July 8: Cirque Among Us circus performance. ▶July 15: Madcap Puppets present “The Three Princes’ Gifts,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Goblin’s Ring.” ▶July 22: Author and illustrator Ruth McNally Barshaw will create a story with the help of the audience.

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Camp Abracadabra is sponsored by the American Museum of Magic in Marshall. There will be two camps this year: One at Lakeview Square Mall in Battle Creek July 22-25 and one at Wilder Creek Conservation Club in Marshall Aug. 19-22. Students ages 7 to 14 will learn magic tricks and get performance tips. Tuition is $115 per camper, or $105 for siblings. The price includes a magic kit, a T-shirt and snacks. Battle Creek campers will receive four passes to the museum and Marshall campers will visit the museum on the last day. Final registration is due July 18 and Aug. 15. For more information, go to americanmuseumofmagic.org.

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Robotics Camp at Kellogg Community College will run July 7-10. Two camp sessions are open to students going into sixth through ninth grades. Intro to Tetrix Robotics is 8 a.m. to noon. Students will design and build a robot using the Tetrix Building System. Some experience with robotic engineering is recommended. Lego Design and Engineering will be 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Learning basic engineering concepts, students will build the Lego structures of their dreams. Camps will be held at KCC’s Regional Manufacturing Technology Center, 405 Hill Brady Road. Tuition is $125, due upon registration. For more information, call 965-4137 or email Kim Andrews-Bingham at andrewsk@kellogg.edu.

If you go

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Choir and drum camp: June 23-27 for students entering grades 3-7 at the Music Center, 450 North Avenue; $45 for one camp or $80 for both; for more information, call 963-1911, ext. 258, or go to yourmusiccenter.org.